When electrostatic discharge (ESD) flows into an integrated semiconductor chip, internal circuits in the semiconductor chip may be damaged or malfunction. The ESD mainly flows into the input/output driver stages. Conventionally, input protection circuits may be employed at an input driver stage to accommodate electrostatic discharge flows. Similar input protection circuits, however, might not be employed at an output driver stage because design constraints do not permit the use of a resistance between an output buffer and an interface terminal. Further, output driver designs are specified to meet certain minimum ESD specifications.